Month: June 2021

Golden-crowned kinglets in Puget Sound have seen a steep decline since 1968

Golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa). Photo: Minette Layne (CC BY-NC 2.0)
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The number of golden-crowned kinglets in the Puget Sound watershed has declined by more than 91% over a recent 50-year period, according to data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The data was reported by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which tracks the information for the Puget Sound Partnership’s terrestrial bird indicator. The indicator was established to monitor the health of Puget Sound’s species and food webs. The findings come amid widespread bird declines across North America. Overall, bird numbers across the Continent dropped by almost 30% […]

Puget Sound Partnership takes closer look at human well-being and environmental justice

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Amid the struggle to save salmon and orcas and restore the Puget Sound ecosystem comes a renewed effort to consider not only how humans affect the environment but how the environment affects the lives of humans. The Puget Sound Partnership, which is overseeing the recovery of Puget Sound, has been developing a series of strategies to acknowledge and enhance the cultural, economic and psychological values that can come from a healthy natural environment. These new strategies, along with related actions, are to be incorporated into the 2022-26 Puget Sound Action […]

International conference at UW will focus on emerging contaminants

Fluoxetine hydrochloride. Photo: Meg (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/disowned/1125134972
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This year’s International Conference on Emerging Contaminants will be hosted virtually at the University of Washington from September 13-14 in partnership with the Center for Urban Waters, the Puget Sound Institute and the Washington Stormwater Center. Abstracts are due June 16th and the deadline for early registration is July 1. The full announcement is available below. Emcon 2021 7th International Conference on Emerging Contaminants Virtual Event, September 13-14, 2021 On behalf of our Scientific Committee, we cordially invite you to Emcon 2021, the 7th International Conference on Emerging Contaminants (https://cvent.me/7kvWG9). […]

Voluntary removal of BPA from food cans leaves state regulators with a key decision

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As Washington state regulators contemplate a ban on the chemical BPA from food and drink cans, a manufacturers organization insists that BPA has already been removed voluntarily from nearly all food cans. Washington Department of Ecology is engaged in Phase 3 of the Safer Products for Washington program, which is evaluating five groups of chemicals known to cause health effects. Agency toxicologists are studying whether safer alternatives are practical and should be required as a matter of state law. One of the compounds under review is bisphenol A (BPA), which […]